At 8 p.m on March 26, the Miami Heat traveled to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to face the Indiana Pacers. This is the third time that the two teams faced each other as the Pacers prevailed 90-84 on Dec. 10, 2013 while the Heat took the second game 97-94 on Dec. 18, 2013. One thing was for certain; this game was going to add more fuel to the fire for this already heated rivalry.

Pacers center Roy Hibbert scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half and set the tone for the Pacers early in the game. However, LeBron James, Heat small forward and super star, scored 21 in the first half and was the player that the Heat relied on throughout the game.  As the Heat started to pull away in the fourth quarter and took a seven-point lead, Paul George, Pacers small forward and rising star, led a rally which ended with Pacers power forward David West hitting a pivotal 3 near the end of the game. Despite James scoring 38 points, it was not enough as the Pacers held on to the victory with the score of 84-83.

The Pacers-Heat rivalry is very physical and emotional and this game was no exception. Both George and James received hard hits throughout the game. Hibbert received a hard elbow from James, who received a flagrant foul call as a result. One of the most intense moments of the game was in the third quarter when Pacers shooting guard Lance Stephenson got into an argument with Heat point guard Mario Chalmers. Shortly after, Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade shoved Stephenson, which led to a scuffle that resulted in a double technical for Stephenson and Wade.  That wasn’t the last of Stephenson as he taunted Wade after a bucket, which led to a questionable technical foul and subsequent ejections. Pacers fans and Stephenson weren’t too happy about the call.

One thing is for certain, expect a bloodbath when the Pacers travel to Miami and face them in American Airlines Arena on April 11 at 7:30 p.m.  Like the other games in the season series, the next game will be vital as either the Pacers will  assert their dominance of the Eastern Conference or the Heat will show that they are still capable of going for a three-peat.

The Game Changer is a sports blog from the HiLite, Carmel High School’s award winning student news magazine. Our bloggers share a love for sports and cover college and professional teams from all across Indiana.